FOXBOROUGH — After a day away, we are back at Gillette Stadium for the Sunday afternoon practice session. Scheduled to run from 3:45 p.m. until 5:30 p.m., we are also supposed to get our first look at linebacker Derrick Burgess in a New England uniform. (We understand he’s going to be wearing No. 49, at least temporarily.) Coach Bill Belichick is also scheduled to address the media after practice. We should have an early blog post up by 6 p.m.

The Patriots have just released their schedule for the coming week:

Saturday, Aug. 8
Players Off – No Practice

Sunday, Aug. 9
1 p.m. – 4 p.m.: Patriots Experience Open to the Public (Free)
3:45 p.m. –   TBD: Afternoon Practice

Monday, Aug. 10
9:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.: Morning Practice
11:00 a.m. –  4:00 p.m.: Patriots Experience Open to the Public (Free)
3:45 –   5:30 p.m.    Afternoon Practice

Tuesday, Aug. 11
9:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.: Morning Practice
11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.: Patriots Experience Open to the Public (Free)
3:45 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.: Afternoon Practice

Wednesday, Aug. 12
Team Travel to Philadelphia – No Practice

Thursday, Aug. 13
7:30 p.m.: Patriots at Philadelphia Eagles

Thanks to the Patriots’ PR staff, here’s the complete transcript of Bill Belichick’s Q&A with the media today at Gillette Stadium:

Read the rest of this entry »

FOXBOROUGH — The following is a portion of the Q&A that Patriots’ nose tackle Vince Wilfork had with reporters this afternoon at Gillette Stadium.

On the Pats’ acquisition of Derrick Burgess…
I think every move we make is to better the team. I’m excited about the season and hopefully he can come along and put together something special for us. But we’ll see. We still have a lot of ways to go. Everybody we have here, I think, everybody’s expectations are high, just because of how competitive we are around here. But it’s a huge pickup for us. We can’t wait for him to get in here and start playing around with him and go from there.

Do you know Derrick Burgess?
I don’t know him at all. I’ve seen him around the league and I’ve seen his play and I love it. Hopefully, he can bring that same type of play here and help us win some ballgames.

Wilfork made the Pro Bowl as a Patriot in 2007. (AP)

On Nick Caserio’s statement yesterday that they are still working on a deal…
I don’t … right now, that’s something I’m far from being concerned about right now. The only thing I’m concerned about is getting better as a football player and playing football. I’ll let those guys handle what they have to handle off the field, so right now, my focus is football and football only right now.

Does the fact that you’re out on the field make things easier for you?
Yes, because I can put that to the side and come out and do what I love — play football. That’s how I’m approaching it. That’s how it’s going to be until I say otherwise. But it will not affect the way I prepare and what I do on the field. You have to be able to separate business from your profession and what you’re doing, and this case right here shows what’s going on. But me, I love football, so I’m going to play football, and everything else will take care of itself.

I want to be here. There’s no question in my mind that I don’t want to go anywhere. But it’s a business. Things happen. Every year, people move [to] different teams. I’m pretty sure people sometimes want to go and sometimes, they don’t want to go. So in my case, I don’t want to go anywhere. I want to stay around here for a long time. Like I said, I want to end my career here. But we’ll see what happens. That’s something that I’m not even concerned about right now. My thing every day is getting up, coming to work, and until they say it’s over, it’s over. But it’s not going to change the way I come out and prepare. Especially, I’m not going to let anyone down in that locker room with me. They know the situation. It’s in the papers and on the news. They know I’m in my final year, but they also know that when I step on this football field and strap it on, it’s time to go to work. They know they can trust me. And I expect the same thing out of them.

On his new child…
David came out real, real healthy. My wife is doing fine and the kids are happy. I’m happy. A little tired, but I can take this tired. Everything went well with the birth and everything. A little baby boy, so I’m looking forward to seeing him now.

What did you name him?
David, after my father.

A future nose tackle?
Nah. He’s going to be a golfer. [laughter] I’m going to start him early. Stay away from football.

FOXBOROUGH — Slow morning down here at Gillette, as the Patriots just had a brief walkthrough. We also just got word that Friday afternoon practice has been cancelled.

The morning walkthough was held under bright, sunny skies, and it appeared many of the players who have been sidelined by various ailments through the first nine days of camp were on the field for the session, which lasted just over an hour.

After the workout, Stephen Gostkowski, Pierre Woods and Vince Wilfork all talked to the media about a variety of topics. Woods addressed the acquistion of new linebacker Derrick Burgess, while Wilfork talked about his contract situation and the birth of his new baby boy, David. (“He’s going to be a golfer,” Wilfork joked.) We’ll have some of those quotes along shortly.

FOXBOROUGH — Hey all … we’re here at Gillette Stadium for another day of double sessions at Patriots’ training camp. The first practice is set to begin at 10:30 a.m., and the second starts at 3:45 p.m. Coach Belichick is scheduled to address the media at 11:45, and we should have our first blog post up around noon. Expect plenty of Derrick Burgess talk…

Here’s the Patriots’ practice schedule for the next week:

Friday: Practices at 10:30 a.m. and 3:45 p.m.
Saturday: No practice
Sunday: Practice at 3:45 p.m.
Monday and Tuesday: Practices at 9:30 a.m. and  3:45 p.m.
Wednesday: No practice — travel to Philadelphia
Thursday: Patriots at Eagles 7:30 p.m.